>> this is the "journal" on dw in berlin. >> our top stories at this hour -- syria says it has the right to defend itself following an israeli air strike right over its territory. >> a shock for a german banking giant as it post more than 2 billion euros in quarterly losses. >> and tornadoes batter six u.s. states in the southeast of the country. >> syria has summoned the head

of the united nations mission in israeli-occupied territory. the issue is an israeli air raid on what syrian officials say was a military research center near damascus. >> the arab league has also condemned the strike, but the actual target is still not exactly clear. some reports suggest a weapons convoy believe to be carrying russian-made anti-aircraft missiles from syria into lebanon. >> we will speak to an expert on the region later. first, this report. >> the israeli government has not issued any statement, but national papers are full of the news. u.s. officials say the raid targeted a weapons convoy headed for members of hezbollah, an ally of the syrian president. but the syrian government denied the existence of the vehicles, saying the israeli planes bombed a research center near damascus. russia says the facts are not yet clear but adds that any air strike would be completely unacceptable. >> we are analyzing the

information as we receive it. if the allegations are confirmed, then it is our position this is a serious breach of the united nations charter. this would be an unacceptable action against a sovereign government. >> the syrian media say two people were killed when israeli jets bombed the research center near damascus and five more injured. israel has not commented on the allegations, but the israeli government had warned syria this week that it would not accept any syrian weapons falling into the hands of hezbollah. israelis are concerned about the possibility of a chemical weapons attack. people have been stockpiling gas masks for months. >> i would rather actually use it as a warning sign, by which israel is warning both hezbollah and assad that israel

is well aware of what is going on. >> israelis fear for their safety. the air strikes marked an escalation in the conflict. now syria says it reserves the right to retaliate. >> in a separate development, the united nations has accused israel of violating the rights of palestinians by continuing to build settlements on occupied land. the united nations human rights council meeting in geneva called israel's settlement building creeping annexation and called on the country to stop the practice and remove all jewish settlers from the west bank. israel is boycotting the meeting as it accuses the council of bias. joining us now for more on these stories is our middle east correspondent. can the region afford a new conflict between syria and israel first of all? >> certainly not. the whole region is in turmoil, weather we look at nigeria, mali, egypt -- whether we look

at nigeria, mali, egypt. this was really meant as a warning shot against syria, but then again, the region is very volatile. you do not know how people react. i think this is also a message by israel to iran indicating that israel is not willing to accept any deals. >> is that why israel has attacked? >> there is no knowledge of why exactly israel attacked last night rather than a week ago or a week later. i think the new government in the making wants to make clear that they will continue policies towards the region, and it is a clear message towards iran and also towards russia. >> what about the united nations' clear criticism of israel's settlement activity? >> israel will continue to ignore this decision.

so will the united states. they will continue to back israeli policies in the occupied territories, but nevertheless, there is a certain change of attitudes to be observed in western countries. more and more criticism coming along with israeli settlement policies, and i think israelis feel the heat. you might even interpret this action we have just seen in syria and the rhetoric in israel about the perceived iranian threat as a means to really distract from this business in the west bank of building one settlement after the other. >> switching back to syria -- how can the you take on a more active role in mediating this dispute -- how can the e you take on a more active role? >> the european union has miserably failed to bring the sides together, and what we need is a dialogue with all parties involved, including the syrian government. the war has changed to a certain extent. government forces are regaining control of large parts of syria, and even the leader of the

opposition is now ready to negotiate with the syrian leader for the first time, so the europeans need to take this into the cap account. they need to strike a balance between russian and american interests. -- the europeans need to take this into account. >> there's already talk of a peacekeeping mission in mali. french troops have managed to drive islamists fighters out of the north in efforts to liberate the region. >> the ground offensive is the first phase of an operation designed to prevent rebels from using the vast desert as a launchpad for attacks on europe. >> top diplomats say the united nations security council is to discuss sending in peacekeepers, which france says it would back. eu foreign ministers have been talking about the conflict, agreeing that african troops should take over from the french asap. >> here's more on the story beginning with germany's involvement. >> german aircraft could soon be used to support french intervention in mali, providing mid-air refueling to french

planes as they go to combat zones. the proposed increase in german military involvement has been welcomed by lawmakers from the governing coalition. >> it is about making more support available to our french partners. to help make sure that mali does not turn into a breeding ground for international terrorists. >> germany has already provided two military transport planes to help transport african union troops with a third ready if needed, but further help will require approval from parliament. the green party do not see it as a simple yes vote. >> the crucial thing about this military involvement is that it must lead to a political process because the military cannot solve the problem. >> parliament must also approve a planned eu training mission for the malian army.

>> the way to ease the burden on france is to put african forces in a position to fulfil their responsibilities in northern mali. >> there's no plan for german combat troops to join the intervention. >> earlier, we asked our brussels correspondent about the message coming out of the foreign ministers' meeting. >> the political message is one of total support for france and what it is doing in mali, but a deep reluctance to engage militarily. a lot of offers of support for the french in terms of equipment and finance in fact from germany, from britain, ireland, sweden, and spain in particular, but as i say, no expectation whatsoever that the other eu countries will join france with boots on the ground. in fact, a statement from the foreign ministers invited or encouraged a group of west african countries to engage more

directly now on the ground. this is seen not necessarily in any way as an eu matter, but very much something for france because of its historical ties to mali and the west african troops because of the geography, and at a bigger level, for the united nations to intervene if it wants to, but there is no doubting the eu's commitment in terms of finance and military expertise, military equipment to help france resolve this crisis quickly. one of the main things that the eu foreign ministers have confirmed today is the dispatch of troops, not for fighting, as i say, but for training -- to train malian forces so they are competent to take over from french troops. the mission will be from the country's 500 troops, probably, a gauge in training of forces -- the mission will be from many

countries 500 troops, probably, engaged in training up forces. it takes time, and who knows what the situation will be by then? but that is as much as is on offer from the foreign ministers at today's meeting. >> a german court has ruled that the lone survivor of a neo-nazi group can face multiple murder charges at her trial planned for later this year. she's accused of helping her accomplices killed 10 people across germany. most of them from acting minorities over 14 years. the two men were found dead in 2011. zschape has been in custody since then. for more on the background, our political correspondent sent us this report. >> this is the story of how a hate-filled the and not the trio went on a rampage over a number of years that left 10 people dead in november 2011. the two male members of the trio

apparently killed each other after a botched a bank robbery. zschape apparently toward the apartment where the three had been living in a bid to cover up evidence. she was arrested days later and has remained silent ever since. this also is a story of how authorities failed to prevent the crimes from happening in first place, partly because of their own incompetence, and partly because they were blind in one eye, believing only that the perpetrators could come from within the immigrant community itself and not from within the neo-nazi scene. it is also the story of the devastating impact this chain of events has had on the immigrant communities in germany, not least the turkish community. they will now be looking to the munich trial for some sort of justice. beate zschape, meanwhile, for her part seems intent to remain silent. >> something of a first in the catholic church -- the german wing is scrambling to save face after a rape victim was turned away by two catholic hospitals

last december. >> the cardinal of cologne says that may victims are entitled to the morning after pill at catholic-run hospitals in his area but only when treatment can prevent fertilization. he says the bill cannot be used to stop egg cells that are already fertilized being implanted in the uterus -- he says the pill cannot be used to stop egg cells that are already fertilized. onto economic news, and job numbers for the first time since last year exceeded the 3 million level. 3 million more people were registered as unemployed than in december raising the national jobless rate to 7.4%, but economists are playing down concerns, saying the winter weather caused a temporary kleiman that they do expect the job market to bounce back in the coming weeks and months. >> just when it seemed as if greece's economic woes had disappeared from the news, transport workers and medical staff went out on strike on thursday. the economy has entered a sixth

successive year of recession, and locals are angry at the difficulties they have to face. >> protesters say the choice, consisting of the imf, the eu, and the ecb, have impose policies on the country that are crippling and dangerous. protesters are demanding changes. >> dockworkers walked off the job in greece. so did bus drivers. overground trains were not running in athens, either. another strike in greece in protest to deeply unpopular austerity measures. weather it is public transport workers or doctors, people are fed up with falling standards of living and cuts to wages. more than a quarter of the greek work force is now unemployed. >> we oppose planned cutbacks, and we want them canceled. we want collective agreements signed any back pay we are owed. employment conditions must meet the needs of the workers. >> it is unlikely these demands will be met soon.

the greek government's hands are tied. public coffers are empty. more protests loom. unions have called a general strike in three weeks time. >> a little bit of sports news for you now -- he is one of the most famous footballers our time and he has played all over the world, but now david beckham is moving to france. >> the 37-year-old midfielder has signed a five-month contract with paris st. germain, currently top of the french league. beckham says he will be donating his salary to charity. nice move there. >> very nice. >> somehow i have to believe the move to paris had something to do with victoria beckham. she is involved in the fashion industry, but watch out, she stores in paris because posh is on the way -- watch out, shoe stores in paris. >> coming up, human rights in

the arab world. stay with us.

>> we are back in focusing on the ongoing turbulence at deutsche bank. after a string of scandals that have kept it in headlines recently, the bank has revealed it ended 2012 by plunging to its worst result in four years with the loss of 2.2 billion euros. management attributes the losses to restructuring costs and large sums set aside to cover look -- to cover legal costs. >> it is london's largest lender and is still having problems reshaping its business to meet new regulatory requirements. >> deutsche bank's new management are having a tough time. the company is facing a slew of lawsuits and investigations. accusations ranging from

involvement in fraudulent dealings in carbon emissions certificates to fraud over the libor interbank lending rate. the bank is charged with cleaning up its act. >> let me say first of all that the results of the fourth quarter 2012 were unsatisfactory for all of us, but they were evidently result of the measures we have taken to make our future strategic direction sustainable. >> the joint chief executives say they want a fundamental change in the culture. >> we expect employees to trade with the utmost integrity and to act in the interests of our customers. if someone cannot honor these values, deutsche bank is not the right place for them. >> but to some analysts called in these words ring hollow. -- to some analysts, these words ring hollow. >> he was the head of deutsche bank for years and the chairman of their supervisory board used

to be managing director for the german chapter of goldman sachs, the biggest investment bank worldwide, so they represent the old guard. >> de banque's past culture is likely to keep costing it money for some time -- deutsche bank's past culture. >> at deutsche bank executives% were not able to give a final answer. it seems litigation charges become another core part of a global banking business model. >> now on to the markets. with disappointing earnings coming in like those from deutsche bank, european shares gave up a little bit of ground on the last trading day of the month. our correspondents and as the summary of the thursday trading session from frankfurt. -- our correspondent sent us the summary of the there's a trading session. >> the trading session surprised the people on the frankfurt floor, it is all the

more surprising that shares of deutsche bank were among the day's best with a clear gain. investigators concentrated on two points -- first, they are of the opinion that most of the possible damage claims or penalties have been worked into the fourth quarter, so that there is a fresh start possible, at least in the view of investors, for 2013. they agree that it is a good thing that deutsche bank says at least for now that it will not issue new shares, which have watered down the value of the old shares. instead, in order to weather itself for new financial storms, it wants to get rid of risky business, a good decision, people here think. >> we stay in frankfurt for a closer look at thursday's numbers. the dax finished thursday session down by nearly 0.5%. euro stoxx 50 down by more than a full percentage point. across the atlantic on wall street, the dow at this hour trading -- well, let's call it

flat, slightly to the downside. the euro slightly up against the greenback. we will leave it at that. >> more international news now. the new york based group human rights watch issued its annual review of the human rights situation in more than 90 countries. it gives special attention to war crimes surrounding the arabs bring -- arab spring, accusing both the syrian government and rebels of war crimes. the organization criticizes burma, saying the government has not done enough to protect minorities. on the topic of syria, we spoke to the director of human rights watch in germany asking what could be done with hundreds of thousands fleeing syria and daily news of crimes. >> first of all, we have to help those people. the need aid, food, good tents, good housing, and also the

western countries have to take on some of the refugees, not to leave the burden of to turkey and jordan alone. we shall revise our policy there, but also very important is the international criminal court. the rebel gang leader or the officer of assad's army -- they have to know that the price to kill somebody, to abuse somebody, to torture somebody is very high. maybe then they think again and will not do that. >> people across the arab world saw the error of spring as a new dawn -- saudi ara -- saw the arab spring as a new dawn. how is it viewed now? >> it is very challenging. we see different situations. a very human rights friendly government i libya, but the state is very weak, so they do not have any power.

we see a strong state in egypt, but the president is not very much in favor of human rights. we see very big problems with room -- with women's rights, for example, in these areas. a lot has to be done. and they need the help of the western world to push it further. >> thank you. >> staying with the situation in syria, about 200,000 syrian refugees are living in lebanon alone. many have found accommodation in unused school buildings or private homes, but others are not so lucky. >> they are having to stay in small, unofficial camps where aid supplies from the united nations refugee agency is sporadic at best. we paid a visit to one such agency, meeting the people who have no such choice -- no other choice than to cope with the hardships they face. >> these syrian refugees are repairing their tent.

in flats two weeks ago, the family lost almost all of the emergency supplies given to them by united nations -- mattresses, cooking stove, clothing. the 17-member family is from the region around the city a lot of -- teh city a -- the city aleppo. the farmer and his children fled three weeks ago from the advancing syrian army. none of them wants to give their names. >> look at this -- we had just got everything set up. but then the floods came and destroyed everything. we lost it all. we were promised a stove and a tent, but so far, no aid has come. >> initially, the united nations was providing aid to the unofficial camp, but no supplies have arrived for two weeks.

more than 150 syrians are forced to live here. they need everything -- clothes and shoes for the children, food, mattresses, blankets. most of them had to buy their tents themselves, and even have to pay rent to pitch the tents. apart from one tank of drinking water, there is no sanitation. >> we eat bread and drink tea. sometimes, we buy flour and egg bread. we do not have anything anymore. sometimes we go hungry. sometimes not. we lost my daughter's pants in the flood. she needs new pants, but where am i supposed to get them? >> sometimes, local construction workers bring the refugees a truckload of building rubble. they sift through it with their bare hands for useful items like wood or plastic sheeting or metal to sell for scrappe.

it is particularly hard for the children. the refugee agency tries to find schools for them to attend, but it is not always possible. especially for kids from unofficial refugee camps. >> i do not go to school here. in syria, i did, but bashar bom bed our school. >> syria needs freedom, the children sing. if assad says the protesters are spies, then we are all spies. even though their village has been destroyed, the refugees want to go home as soon as possible. they hope assad will be toppled soon. until then, they will have to stay in lebanon and survive as best they can. >> now to the southeastern united states, which has been pummeled by some of the most severe winter storms in years with eight states affected. >> especially hard hit --

georgia where the storm tore through. >> the tornado caught on camera as it passes through georgia. the cameramen decides to run for cover. with wind speeds exceeding 160 kilometers an hour in some areas, the tornado left a trail of destruction. electricity pylons and trees were knocked down by the winds. dozens of houses were destroyed, and cars were tossed around like toys. >> that truck flew 250 feet there. >> evidently. wrap it all in the power lines and i guess slammed it down. >> many local people have lost all they have, their houses flattened by the tornado. others describe how close they had come to being harmed. >> was there anyone in the house when it came through? >> my mom and my brother.

>> are they ok? >> yeah. >> 6 suisses have hit u.s. states in the last few days. forecasters say this is unusual in january. -- six twisters. >> a u.s. super server is known for taking on the big waves. >> he was taken from hawaii to portugal where he has conquered what he says may have been up to 30 meters high waves. that would be his -- that would be to his current world record of just 24 meters. the guinness world records is working to confirm his estimation. looks like 30 meters to me. >> that is it for dw. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--